Transport strike fails in Luzon, Visayas

A nationwide transport strike that the Stop and Go Coalition staged on Monday hardly affected commuters in Luzon and the Visayas as jeepney drivers continued to ply their routes.

The coalition of transport groups declared a two-day strike to protest the government’s Public Utility Vehicles Modernization Act, including the phasing out of old jeepney units.

In Bulacan, only 50 percent of member-operators joined the strike but barely affected commuters in the province.

The Provincial Public Affairs Office said executives in the cities of Malolos, San Jose del Monte and in the towns of Bocaue, Santa Maria, Marilao and San Miguel suspended classes in all levels of both public and private schools.

In Tarlac, it was business as usual as the common terminal for all transport services to and from the province was filled with public utility vehicles in regular operation.

The jeepney drivers called it an ordinary day and continued to ply their routes to meet their families’ needs.
No suspension of classes was reported.

In the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Rizal and Cavite, it was a normal day for public utility drivers and commuters as operators and drivers opted not to participate in the protest action saying their priority is to earn a day’s living.

Earlier, members of Pasang Masda and ACTO in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) said they would not participate in the strike.

Similarly, jeepney drivers and operators in Cebu did not join the transport strike, according to Ahmed Cuizon, regional director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas.

Greg Perez of the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston) Cebu said they did not get a mandate from their national headquarters.

There were no reported street rallies in relation to the nationwide transport strike.